In a piece last year about the change, SeattlePI.com Executive Producer Michelle Nicolosi asked, “Is it possible to run an online-only local news site that serves a city’s readers well while turning a profit?”

“[Balles] says they’re on track to make a profit, though he won’t say when. Hearst Corporation is a privately-held company, and [Balles] says stock holders will be the first to know when they’ve turned the corner. At the least, he says, they are not bleeding $1 million a month they lost with the print operation. It’s estimated that in 2008 Hearst lost $14 million in Seattle.

” ‘I like to think of it as it’s an ATM that maybe the parent company was making deposits into. Eventually they’d like to get a withdrawal out of this ATM, this investment, and I think it’s totally viable to do that,’ Balles says.”

Balles told me by e-mail that the Web site averages around 4 million unique visitors per month, with 40 million page views. Thomas reported that those figures are comparable to when the P-I published in print and online.

“We are optimistic with the progress made,” Balles told me, “and encouraged by the feedback we are getting from clients on how we are meeting/exceeding expectations with their online campaigns on the SeattlePI, Yahoo, Facebook, Zillow and Search Engine Marketing.”

Poynter media business analyst Rick Edmonds noted the ongoing challenge faced by the P-I and other online-only operations. “In a general way, there’s not enough online advertising to support a substantial news operation,” and even a staff of 22 is a substantial news operation, he said.

Edmonds believes a diversified revenue base helps. Some online-only sites, like MinnPost and others that allow donations and depend on foundation support, offer advertising as a way for organizations to associate themselves with a good thing. It’s similar to NPR’s approach with its sponsors. “That’s harder to make work for a for-profit business,” Edmonds said, “since people aren’t warm and fuzzy about it to the same degree.”